Exploring the Color #5E9990

#5E9990 sits at 171° on the color wheel, placing it in the cyan family of the cool half of the spectrum. With 24% saturation and 48% lightness, it reads as a softly muted, balanced tone — a balanced mid-energy presence that sits comfortably alongside other UI tones. Its RGB mix of 94, 153, 144 produces a 6.44:1 contrast ratio against black, which clears WCAG AA for body text in that pairing.

In RGB space #5E9990 is a clear variant of CSS gray — about 45 units away from #808080. Designers reach for cyan hues at this saturation when the brief calls for restraint and atmosphere, and at this lightness when they want a present, comfortable mid-canvas voice. On screen the cool cast tends to pair best with warm neutrals in the 25°-45° range to add life.

Darkening Shades

Lightening Shades